This invention relates to a roll finisher for press-finishing already-washed cloth articles (such as sheets, covers, and pillow cases and the like).
Cloth articles that have been washed in a washing machine are finished by being press-treated by a roll finisher.
A side view of a conventional example of a roll finisher is given in FIG. 4.
Cylindrical main rolls 1, 2, and 3 are deployed horizontally and in parallel, and each rolls turns in the direction indicated by the arrows L.
These main rolls 1, 2, and 3 are configured so as to be hollow, and in some cases are provided with vacuum exhaust means. (By xe2x80x9cexhaust,xe2x80x9d in this invention, is meant to implement vacuum suction and exhaust the inside air, which is a different meaning from that of the exhaust of automobile engines and the like.)
The outer circumferential surfaces of the main rolls 1, 2, and 3 are covered with a felt-form upper wrapping.
These main rolls 1, 2, and 3 are provided with heating beds 1a, 2a, and 3a, respectively, which function as press-finishing irons.
The heating beds 1a, 2a, and 3a noted above are heated by heating steam or heating oil.
Ribbon tape 6 forms endless a loop that is wound about the main rolls 1, 2, and 3 and also about ribbon guides 5. This ribbon tape 6 is made to turn in the direction indicated by the arrow Lxe2x80x2 at the same speed as the main rolls 1, 2, and 3, while guiding the article being treated 7.
The article being treated 7 is conveyed in by an entrance conveyor 4 and fed between the heating bed 1a and the ribbon tape 6. The article being treated 7 is pulled along by the friction between the surface 7a on one side thereof and the ribbon tape 6. The surface 7b on the other side is pressed against the heating bed 1a and made to slide.
The article being treated that has passed between the main roll 1 and the heating bed 1a as indicated by the curved arrow L advances between the main roll 2 and the heating bed 2a, and then passes between the main roll 3 and the heating bed 3a. The press-finished article 7xe2x80x2 that has finished passing through is conveyed out from the roll finisher.
FIG. 5 is a front view of the conventional example of roll finisher diagrammed in FIG. 4 as noted above, as seen from the direction of the arrow A. As diagrammed in this figure, a multiplicity of the ribbon tapes 6 and ribbon guides 5 are aligned in the axial direction of the main roll 1. Item 8 is a frame.
In the conventional example of roll finisher described in the foregoing (FIGS. 4 and 5), the ribbon tapes 6 are worn severely, and the durable life thereof is short, which constitutes a difficulty. In addition, the ribbon tapes 6 get sandwiched between the article being treated 7 and the main rolls 1, 2, and 3, and the ribbon tapes 6 leave marks on the surface 7a on the one side of the article being treated 7 which adversely affects the finishing quality.
In order to eliminate such difficulties, delivery mechanisms for passing the article being treated along have been devised for taking the article being treated that has passed an upstream main roll and heating bed and supplying it to a downstream main roll and heating bed.
Publicly known delivery mechanisms are now described with reference to the drawings. The basic principle underlying these delivery mechanisms consists of vacuum-adsorbing the article being treated, receiving it on a conveyor belt, and carrying it along.
FIG. 6 is an overall view of a roll finisher equipped with a delivery mechanism that is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H8-107995/1996. The details of the main parts thereof will be described subsequently with reference to FIG. 7.
The article being treated 7 that is fed out from between the upstream main roll 1 and heating bed 1a is vacuum-adsorbed and received by a delivery mechanism G.T, and fed in between the downstream main roll 2 and heating bed 2a. The finished article 7xe2x80x2 fed out from the final main roll 2 and heating bed 2a are conveyed out by an exit conveyor 9.
The delivery mechanism G.T noted above comprises a box 11 constituted by porous plates, a ventilating loop-form belt 12 wound about that box, a drive pulley 13 for causing that belt to turn, and an exhaust pipe 10 for vacuum-sucking the air from inside the box 11. The structure of this delivery mechanism G.T is as described below.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged detailed cross-sectional view of the delivery mechanism G.T described above.
The upper half of the box 11 is constituted by a semi-cylindrical porous plate.
The ventilating endless loop belt 12 covers the semi-cylindrical portion noted above, and is wound about four guide pulleys and a drive pulley 13. This drive pulley turns in the direction indicated by the arrow r, and causes the endless loop belt 12 to move orbitally as indicated by the arrows d, dxe2x80x2, and dxe2x80x3.
The air inside the box 11 is vacuum-sucked by the exhaust pipe 10 as indicated by the arrow c, and the article being treated 7 is sucked onto the ventilating loop belt 12.
Based on the publicly known invention of FIG. 7 and 8 described above, the advantage is gained of marks from the ribbon tapes 6 (FIGS. 4 and 5) not being left on the article being treated. However, the loop belt 12 continually rubs against the box 11, wherefore the durable life of this belt is short.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-314499/1998 discloses an improved invention wherein wear to the loop belt is prevented and the durable life thereof is extended.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the delivery mechanism 15 of that improved invention, that corresponds to FIG. 7 in the publicly known invention described earlier.
Item 15a is a suction roll constituted by a porous plate, the air inside of which is vacuum-sucked by an exhaust pipe 15f as indicated by the arrow cxe2x80x2. A ventilating guide belt 15d is wound about that suction roll 15a, a guide roll 15c, and a drive pulley 15h. Item 15e is a tensioning pulley, 15b is a guide table, and 15g is a guide plate.
The drive pulley 15h is made to turn in the direction indicated by the arrow r, causing the loop belt 15d to turn as indicated by the arrow e. The suction roll 15a also is made to turn in the direction indicated by the arrow r, wherefore there is no danger of early friction between it and the loop belt 15d. 
FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a roll finisher equipped with the delivery mechanism of the improved invention diagrammed in FIG. 8 as noted in the foregoing. Because the scale is small, the guide plate 15g and tensioning pulley 15e described in conjunction with FIG. 8 are omitted from the drawing. It is also possible to eliminate the drive pulley 15h and drive the rotation of the suction roll 15a. 
In the improved roll finisher diagrammed in FIG. 9, the article being treated that has passed between the main roll 1 and heating bed 1a on the upstream side (the left side in the drawing) is sucked to the suction roll 15a by a suction air flow as indicated by the arrow s, placed on the guide belt 15d, and carried out as indicated by the arrow e. However, there are cases where that article being treated will keep on going around, together with that main roll 1, as indicated at 7xe2x80x3 drawn as a hypothetical line, still sticking to the main roll, without being sucked onto the suction roll 15a. 
Whether or not this sticking phenomenon happens depends on various parameters, but the main factor in the sticking force here is believed to be the intertwining of the nap of the felt (described earlier) wrapped on the main roll 1 and the nap of the cloth article that is the article being treated.
An object of the present invention, which was devised in view of the circumstances described above, is to provide both a roll finishing method improved so that the article being treated fed out from between the main roll and the heating bed separates from the main roll and is sucked onto the delivery mechanism without fail, and a roll finisher suitable for embodying the method of that invention.
The object of the application of the present invention is a roll finisher comprising main rolls, heating beds, and a delivery mechanism.
The delivery mechanism noted above basically is a delivery mechanism that receives an article being treated from an upstream main roll and heating bed and feeds that to a downstream main roll and heating bed.
However, in terms of applications, it is also possible to apply the present invention to a delivery mechanism for receiving the article being treated from a main roll and a heating bed and sending it to an exit conveyor (also called a discharge conveyor).
With the roll finishing method of the present invention, when the article being treated that has passed between a main roll and a heating bed starts to cross from the main roll to the delivery mechanism, compressed air is blown between the main roll and the article being treated. The striking air flow acts to peel the article being treated away from the main roll. The article being treated peeled away from the main roll is sucked onto the delivery mechanism and carried along.
The roll finisher created for the purpose of embodying the method of the present invention described above comprises air nozzles for jetting compressed air toward the vicinity of the gap between the main roll and the delivery mechanism, and means for sending compressed air to those air nozzles.